Escorted Rail Tours to Sarlat

Attractive medieval and Renaissance architecture

The town of Sarlat lies in a hollow between hills a few miles
north of the Dordogne River, and it possesses the highest
concentration of medieval, Renaissance and 17th century façades of
any town in France. The town originally developed around a large
Benedictine abbey in the 8th century. After the Hundred Years'
War Sarlat suffered considerable damage, yet it was granted a
privileged status in return for the loyalty it had shown to the
French Crown.

Sarlat was quickly restored and rebuilt, and re-emerged with the
beautiful buildings it has retained to this day. Much of Sarlat's
oldest architecture can be found in the lanes at the back of the
cathedral. Here, a number of pretty courtyards - such as Cour des
Fontaines and Cour des Chanoines - can be found, as can some of the
town's original fortifications. All in all, more than 1,000 years
of architecture can be seen here: from the 19th century buildings
on the Rue de la République to the medieval houses of the Old Town,
or Vieille Ville. All have been beautifully maintained or
restored.